Reading set for green light over £500m Select Car Leasing Stadium development project

Reading are set to move closer to a major transformation around the Select Car Leasing Stadium, with enabling works expected to receive approval.

The £500 million Royal Elm Park project would bring hundreds of homes, a hotel and major leisure facilities to the area surrounding the Royals' ground.

Work to transform area around Reading FC stadium set for approval

The Royal Elm Park project was granted planning permission in 2017 and includes 600 apartments, a 246-bedroom hotel, an ice rink and a convention centre.

However, Reading Borough Council must approve enabling works before the wider development can proceed, particularly measures to ensure the former landfill site is safe for construction, according to the BBC.

The land was used as a landfill between 1972 and 1985 before becoming surface-level parking when the stadium opened in 1998. Last year, Reading FC Property Company secured approval to amend contaminated-land conditions to allow the first phase, including a multi-storey car park, to begin.

Further changes are now being sought to allow additional work to proceed. The proposed conditions would require ongoing land management and remedial measures until the council is satisfied that waste and ground gases no longer pose a hazard.

Ground-gas risks would also have to be assessed against British standards, while the developer would contribute towards ongoing land-management monitoring until the council is satisfied the risks have been removed.

Because of the legal nature of the proposed changes, the application is expected to be considered by Reading Borough Council's planning applications committee.

FGG says: Reading’s £500m stadium development could transform the area

This is a huge project for Reading and, if the necessary safety work gets the green light, it could finally start moving from long-running plans towards reality.

The combination of housing, hospitality and leisure facilities would significantly change the area around the stadium.

The former landfill site's history means the groundwork cannot be rushed, but getting those issues properly dealt with is essential. If that happens, Royal Elm Park could become a major addition to the area around Reading's stadium.